Mission News from Israel

Munir Kakish and his wife, Sharon, FCA missionaries serving in Ramallah, Israel (ten miles north of Jerusalem), report on the situation they are currently facing there. “Missiles do not reach our area,” says Kakish, but many challenges still remain. They are unable to leave their town for now, and when the army enters Gaza, they will be unable to leave their home.

“There will be violent demonstrations,” Kakish explains. “We will remain at home and not even be able to go to stores or school.” While they have extra food and supplies set aside in anticipation of the worsening situation, they are also packing food boxes for others and hope to distribute 50 boxes of food (about $100 each) for those who cannot get what they need. Kakish invites any who may feel led to contribute to project.

Kakish urges believers to pray for all those who have been impacted by the war.

A Prayer Guide
Spiritual needs:
For the peace of Jerusalem.
For the salvation of all Abraham’s children (both peoples).

Physical and emotional needs:
For those who lost family members.
For the healing and recovery of the injured.
For children raised in Kakish’s boys’ home—and their families.
For children deeply affected psychologically by the violence.
For Muslim kids Kakish supports.

Safety needs:
For Kakish’s congregations in Ramla and Ramallah.
For their church people and elders who live in Gaza.
For a Baptist church (and other historical churches) in Gaza.
For the Council of Evangelical Churches in the Holy Land.
For several parachurch organizations in the area.
For open roads and safe travel for those moving to safer places.

For miraculous resolution:
For hostages to be freed.
For the destruction to stop.
That local and international leaders might find some solution.
That Palestinians and Israelis may live in peace.

Some hope to fan the flames of hatred, says Kakish, who is praying that God would intervene and thwart those plans to escalate violence. He recalls the well-known devotional by John Donne: “…any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.”

“There is only one name under heaven whereby we might be saved,” Kakish notes. “We need to accept Jesus in this lifetime. If either side controls the land from the Mediterranean to the Pacific but does not have Jesus, it is all for naught.”

About Gaza

Gaza is a narrow strip of land 25 miles long and from 3.7 to 7.5 miles wide. Gaza city has a density of 9,683 people per square kilometer, making it one of the most densely populated cities in the world. It has an unemployment rate of 46.4 percent.

—Dr. Munir Kakish is President of the Council of Local Evangelical Churches in the Holy Land and Pastor of the local church in Ramallah and Ramla.

Note: Learn more about RCO Ministries (Ramla | Ramallah Christian Outreach) at www.rcoministries.org. You may also donate on the website for needs mentioned above as well as additional needs that are sure to come.

2023 Church Planting Videos

Two videos are available to encourage your congregation to support FCA church planting efforts. The first is dated to be used on Pentecost Sunday, May 28, 2023. The second video is undated and can be used whatever day works best for your church calendar.

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Church Planting video for Pentecost Sunday, May 28, 2023
Encourage your church to support FCA church planting!

Use the video above (on any date) to encourage your
church to give in support of church planting in the FCA.

Ministry in the Great Lakes Region of Africa

Over the years I have had the privilege of traveling to connect with and encourage leaders around the world. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for me on these trips since I began serving as Global Connections Coordinator for FCA USA almost 2 years ago. I just returned from 3 weeks in Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda, and I can tell you that God’s Kingdom is advancing around the world and the gates of hell are not prevailing against the called-out-ones of Jesus Christ!

I want to give you a quick glimpse into what God is doing through several of our Global Affiliates in the three countries in the Great Lakes Region of Africa that I was able to visit on this three-week trip. My wife, Sarah, and daughter, Abby, worked hard to be able to join me for 2/3 of this trip, and some generous friends helped Abby with the remainder needed to make this happen; truly a life-changing investment for her. I was greatly encouraged by the work being done in this region: The partnership that our churches have had with the ministries and leaders connected to World Outreach Ministry Foundation has borne much fruit.

Standing in the North AND the South at the same time!

 

It was a joy to be able to connect with Pastor Steven Mayanja, his wife Cissy, Bob Mayonza, and many others who are connected to Uganda Christian Outreach Ministries.  We were also able to visit the Medical clinic in Seguku and to visit and speak at Seguku Worship Center with Pastor David Stuart for two services on a Sunday, the first service was all English, so you can check it out HERE, or HERE if you want to just hear the message that I shared. We also got to speak at a chapel service at Yesu Akwagala Bible School (Yesu Akwagala means “Jesus Loves You”) and at several High Schools.

Many of you partnered to help build this new campus of the Bible School: It’s coming along well!

 

Abby speaking to students at an area High School.

 

Abby encouraging students at Yesu Akwagala High School.

Praying for students during chapel at the Yesu Akwagala High School.

We made a quick 72-hour trip over to Burundi for two days of seminars with Burundi Christian Outreach Ministries. I did not know this before preparing for this trip, but Burundi is considered the poorest country by GDP and among the “saddest” due to the impact from years of war and violence on society and individuals. Talking with Pastor Ezechiel, the leader of that group of churches, we found out that smiling was rare in the communities when they began over 1o years ago, and that it wasn’t until the ministries of reconciliation and healing came in to transform people’s hearts that you could begin to see smiles and joy. The welcome that we received was so warm and the worship was so joyful that you would not have known that you were in what the world considers one of the “saddest” countries in the world: God truly transforms hearts and entire communities!

 

We gathered with pastors and church leaders from over 10 churches to spend time in prayer, worship, and teaching on church and ministry leadership from Pastor Steve Mayanja and I. It was a powerful time: You’ll get a chance to hear him preach at the FCA USA Convention in a few weeks!

 

We also got to see the Primary School that has been founded in the village we were visiting. It was particularly challenging to hear of four teachers who have been volunteering their time for the last 2 years to teach students from 8 AM to 1 PM and then going to their gardens to work in the afternoons to be able to provide for their families: May God give us all that level of dedication for the work of ministry that he has called us to!

Speaking of dedication, one thing that the people we met had was dedication: Everywhere we looked there were plots of land that were cultivated: Where the world has declared poverty, God has provided resources and the dedication to steward those well!

That dedication was recently seen in the perseverance of Pastor Ezechiel with processing his visa to be able to join us at the FCA Convention in Minneapolis…After many appointments he was granted his visa today and he is looking forward to the opportunity to get to know all of you in Minneapolis!

We had a great time with the leaders there and this is their greeting to you:

 

From Burundi, we went back to Uganda for a few more days of ministry in my role as International Ministry Director with the Pilgrim Center for Reconciliation before traveling to Rwanda for a week of ministry training with Rwandan and Congolese leaders. God is doing great things through those servant leaders from various denominations and fellowships. Lots of good ministry during my 12 days with the national leaders of Uganda, Rwanda, and Congo!

On the last Sunday of the trip I was able to spend the day with Pastor Canisius Gacura and his wife Allen. They are wonderful people doing a great work in Kigali. They are pastoring a church called Nyabugingo (life-giving) in the part of the city known as “the place of the dead”.

Pastor Gacura was so joyful and humble, yet the depth of what God has done in him became clearer as I read the story of his life the following week. This is one of the most powerful stories I’ve ever read: I can tell you that his story will both challenge and encourage you to reach beyond yourself and live an unlimited life! It should be required reading for being a spiritual leader:

(This book is helping with the construction of the new church building and ministry center along with the partnerships with many of you).

This trip was longer than usual (23 days total) and very full of many good things. I am thankful for all of your prayers because there are many things that could have gone wrong while traveling for so long and with so many different things to get done in so many places, yet things went very smoothly. I was able to connect with many wonderful people from these ministries, and many other ministries I was not able to include in this update. I also enjoyed being able to eat fruit that I grew up eating (matoke, pineapple, mango…yum!) and it was also pretty cool to see THREE of the Great Lakes (Victoria, Tanganyika, and Kivu) and eat fresh fish from them…Delicious!

May God continue to provide for the advancing of His kingdom around the world by the power of the Holy Spirit through each of our local churches to make disciples of all nations! 

FCA’s “Fastest Pastor”

Don Wickstrum in his shop.

 

 

Don Wickstrum, youth pastor at Grace Church in New Glarus, Wisconsin, shares his story of racing to the top of Pikes Peak.

His story, however, is about much more than an adrenalin-fueled automobile race. It’s about running the ultimate race—and finding what matters most.

A newly released documentary film produced by I Am Second, a global storytelling organization, offers an intimate look at entrepreneur, pastor and racer, Don Wickstrum and his years-long journey to conquer the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, all the time leaning on his faith and battling an aggressive cancer diagnosis.

“Even though life may not always seem to present you with the best hand, the best place to put that hand is in the hands of God,” says Wickstrum.

With uplifting messages that encourage viewers in their walk with God, the film “Chasing Hope” releases just in time for families and friends to watch it together during the holiday season.

“This story is for anyone who is searching for hope,” said John Humphrey, Vice President of I Am Second. “We knew Don for several years before his diagnosis, and when we saw what he was trying to accomplish at Pikes Peak, we jumped at the chance to share his powerful story with a larger audience. Don represents his faith in an engaging, authentic way. He has a desire to share the eternal hope he’s found in Christ, and he puts his faith into action. That’s an example for all of us.”

Holding tightly to his childhood dream of racing Pikes Peak, he made a deal with his father to first go to college. Having experienced significant hardship growing up, however, Wickstrum wrestled with his faith and lacked a sense of hope. In college he declared himself an atheist and set out to disprove religion.

“Probably midway through my sophomore year, I was getting really fed up with this whole Christianity thing because what I started to discover is that it wasn’t as easy to prove wrong as I thought,” Wickstrum recalls. “I specifically remember coming across this moral dilemma, thinking, ‘Okay, I admit it, the Bible’s true and this is legit, but I don’t know that I want to give my life to it.’”

One unforgettable evening, Wickstrum had a powerful encounter with God that changed the trajectory of his life. He surrendered his life to Christ and felt true hope in his heart for the first time.

In the following years, Wickstrum became successfully involved in racing, ministry, and serial entrepreneurship, owning one of the largest robotic integrators in America. However, in late 2018, everything changed when he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of colon cancer, forcing him to sell his business and evaluate his future.

“As I prayed, I really felt like God was opening the door for me to race at Pike’s Peak,” explains Don. “I sought my wife’s counsel on it, and she asked me, ‘If eight-year-old you had heard of a guy like you that was facing a tough circumstance, and yet he was able to accomplish his dream of going to Pike’s Peak, do you think that would have given you hope?’”

In pondering his wife’s profound question, the Fastest Pastor, as he’s affectionately known by church members and fans, committed to put the wheel in God’s hands and pursue Pikes Peak, aspiring to share his faith and inspire hope in others.

The second-oldest motorsports race in America, the Pikes Peak race has no equal. Boasting 156 turns over a 12.42-mile course, beginning at over 9,300 feet and ending at 14,115 feet above sea level, the harrowing course has long served as a driver’s proving ground. Conquering the climb has been a dream of Wickstrum’s since he first saw the race on TV when he was eight years old.

Don Wickstrum serves as youth pastor at Grace Church in New Glarus, Wisconsin. He is a leader in ministry, a counselor, a mentor, a husband and a father. He continues to race and share the Gospel amid his ongoing battle with cancer, hoping to inspire and minister to others. To read more of his story, visit fastestpastor.com.

You can also view Wickstrum’s story by clicking iamsecond.com/film/chasing-hope/. And for other inspiring stories visit iamsecond.com. The website that features written and film-based stories of more than 150 athletes, actors, models, musicians, cultural influencers and everyday people who have stepped in front of the camera to declare, “I Am Second.”

From Grief to Comfort

Ministering comfort and strength to the wives of pastors in Nicaragua, ministry widows Ruth (Ost) Martinez, Nancy Honeytree, and Patty Klewer recently hosted a “Retreat for Pastors’s Wives,” along with Ruth’s daughter, Angela. Ruth observed that over 400 Nicaraguan pastors have died during the pandemic, leaving ministry wives not only with the devastating loss of a husband but due to leadership changes, frequently the loss of the congregation they once served.

While the last two years have represented “mountains and valleys,” Ruth reports, “I am a ‘UPS’ lady—Upheld, Preserved, and Sustained, by his right hand!” Shortly after her husband of 48 years, Victor Martinez, finished his earthly race September 11, 2019, she continued their joint ministry commitments with the help of her daughter Angela.

The worldwide crisis hit Mexico especially hard. Through 2020 and 2021, over 1,500 pastors in Mexico died. In such difficult times, Ruth began to realize her purpose as a widow was to comfort others in grief. “I had a purpose as a single woman in ministry for six years,” she observed, and later she found purpose as a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and a great-grandmother. She has now embraced a new purpose: teaching in the Bible School and area churches, caring for those in grief, particularly widows and orphans.

Don’t Lose Heart, a book written by two widows in ministry, serves as the basis for a 12-week project to comfort the grieving. “We had planned to help 30 ministry widows in the process of grief,” says Ruth. “To our greatest surprise we are now assisting more than 2,000, including men, women, children, and youth.” They are serving all ages in all types of grief and continue writing collaborative books, including Take Courage, now available on Amazon.

Social media has also proved a helpful tool to provide support. Daily comfort meditations from God’s Word are sent via WhatsApp, and WhatsApp chat groups of 15 to 20 provide additional encouragement. Weekly zoom meetings for targeted groups and videos on Facebook have expanded the reach. Ruth’s grief ministry (Legado de Acompañamiento) can also be found on Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, TikTok, and YouTube—with digital comfort connecting to approximately 8,000 in multiple countries!

“We are learning to be comforted,” says Ruth, “in order to comfort others.” Over 90 volunteers, having themselves received comfort and ministry, are compassionately learning to comfort others.

Ruth (Ost) Martinez, one of eight children of Danny and Ruby Ost, has long been a friend of the FCA. To learn more about her ministry of comfort, you may email her at impactodeamor@gmail.com, to 1303 Calle del Norte Suite 300, Laredo, TX 78040, or call +1 811 050 8315 (in the USA) or 811 050 8315 (in Mexico).